


No One Gets Into Heaven Without Racing Through Hell

by Jennsepticeye



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Witty Banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 08:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennsepticeye/pseuds/Jennsepticeye
Summary: Nico swears on the Styx that it was an accident. He was being careful. He wasn’t summoning anything or shadow traveling. It was just supposed to be sword training with the Hermes cabin. Okay, so maybe he should have known that nothing was simple where the Stoll brothers were involved, he just didn’t think it would end with Nico bleeding. At least Connor and Travis had the good sense to look apologetic about it.5 times Will and Nico missed their chance, and the one time they didn't.





	No One Gets Into Heaven Without Racing Through Hell

**ONE**

Nico is fine, really. Sure, he’s so exhausted he can barely stand, but he’s not transparent, or injured, so there’s no reason he needs to go to the infirmary. They just fought a war, and the last thing they need is a son of Hades taking up a perfectly good bed. Still, Will doesn’t budge so Nico allows himself to be pushed into the infirmary and into a surprisingly soft cot.

If he were less tired, he would probably care more about the less than friendly looks the other patients are giving him. As it is, he falls asleep less than a minute after his head hits the pillow.

~*~

For the first time in his demigod life, Nico doesn’t dream. No nightmares of his time in Tartarus, or prophetic bullshit. Just some god damned peace and quiet. He almost punches will in frustration when he shakes Nico awake after what feels like just a few minutes. It’s the only good sleep he’s had since this whole thing started.

“What in the gods names do you want, Solace?” He snaps, still holding onto the last dregs of sleepiness.

Will just smiles, the asshole. “Sleep all you want di Angelo, but you won’t feel better unless you eat something.” He’s holding a steaming bowl of pavilion soup. It smells fantastic, and Nico’s stomach makes and obnoxious grumble.

Will raises an eyebrow daring Nico to refuse.

“Fine.” He mumbles, snatching the bowl. He might have a slight problem admitting that others have his best interests at heart.

Like usual, the soup is delicious. The food here was almost enough to keep him from running away the first time. Almost.

Will sort of just stares at him while he practically inhales the soup. It should be awkward, tense maybe, but it isn’t.

WILL

Will really should be tending to his other patients, Clarisse has a sprained knee and bruising from the battle, in fact, more than half of the Ares cabin needs medical attention. He really should leave Nico to eat in peace and fall back asleep, but he can’t bring himself to. There’s just something about Nico that keeps him from getting up and walking away.

“You just gonna stare at me Solace?” Nico asks, scowling. Nico is always scowling so Will doubts that it actually means anything.

“Just making sure you don’t decide to run off when I’m not looking, Death Boy.”

“Death Boy?” Nico raises an eyebrow, eyes shining behind his thick fringe.

“What? It suits you.”

Nico rolls his eyes and will thinks he sees a hint of a blush, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

“Eat your soup, Nico.” Will says after a moment, finally standing up. “Doctors orders.”

“Eat my pants, Solace.” Nico calls after him.

**TWO**

Nico had never participated in Camp Half-Blood’s capture the flag games, except for the summer Bianca died. Not his favorite memories now, but he remembers being so excited at the time. He misses when things were simpler. He kind of wishes he hadn’t let Minos convince him to give up everything he enjoyed in a quest to bring her back.

Now, years later, it’s capture the flag night again, and Nico had managed to get the all clear from Will to play. It’s not his first choice in activities, but since Will had practically had him on bed rest for the last week, he would take anything. Of course, with his luck he isn’t allowed to just play like normal. Instead he’s stuck on guard duty with Will as his babysitter. It’s beyond irritating, and Nico makes a point to sulk about it.

He sighs six times before Will says anything.

“You don’t do passive-aggressive very well, di Angelo.”

“Bite me, Solace. I’m bored and it’s your fault.” Nico snaps back.

“It’s not my fault you nearly died. You’re recovering and I am a responsible medical professional.” Will says. Nico likes this better than the strange awkwardness since he’d left the infirmary. The easy back and forth is nice.

“Fine, next time I’ll let the Apollo cabin carry a stupid big statue half-way across the world. You can lead the charge and everything.”

Will snorts and the conversation lapses for a moment. Then will says, “The infirmary is kinda quiet without you.”

Nico gives him a look.

“No, I’m serious. It’s so boring. Half the cabin is too young to help, and no one comes in anymore, thankfully. But there’s nothing to do.”

“Careful what you wish for, Solace. You’ll probably have a full infirmary tonight.”

“Then I’ll have an excuse to make you come in and help.” Will says, bright and genuine. Nico frowns in surprise.

“You don’t want me there.” He says quietly.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Nico scoffs. “You can’t possibly be that naïve. I’m the son of Hades. I belong with the dead, not where people are trying to heal.”

WILL

“… I belong with the dead, not where people are trying to heal.”

Will didn’t meet Nico when he came to camp the first time with Percy and the Hunters. He had run away before Will had the chance and had remained an enigma until the Titan War. Convincing his father to join the fight had really turned the tide of the battle. Outside of the wars though, Will doesn’t really _know _Nico. But with the way the Olympians treated Hades, Nico probably felt just as isolated at camp.

“No, you don’t” Will says finally. “You belong anywhere you want to be. No one is pushing you away anymore.”

“Bullshit, people are scared of me.”

“”Because you don’t let them know you. Are you really going to let your father’s identity dictate everything about your life?” Finally, Will’s words seem to get through Nico’s thick skull. He goes quiet, twisting his silver skull ring around his finger. Nico’s hands are thin but strong, covered in callouses from sword fighting. Will doesn’t know why he’s noticing something as little as Nico’s hands right now.

“I–“ Nico seems to be at a loss for words, staring at his boots. “I don’t remember what it was like to have friends, if I even had any… before, and I don’t know. I guess I just felt like Bianca abandoned me to join the Hunters. It just hasn’t been worth it to get close to anyone.”

Will knocks their shoulders together. “It’s always worth it, Nico. And for what it’s worth, I consider you a friend.”

Nico sighs and pulls off his helmet, letting it fall to the ground. Will finds himself noticing, not for the first time, how attractive Nico di Angelo is, how striking his eyes are.

“Thanks, Solace.” He says. “I’ll stop by the infirmary sometime, say hi.”

In the time it takes for Will to think of a response, Jason comes crashing through the woods followed by a bunch of unhappy Hermes campers. He jumps over the stream and the flag changes to an image of a lightning bolt. Several Hermes kids shout and throw their helmets to the ground. The game is over. No one had even gotten close to their flag.

Just as Will figures out what to say Nico is running down the hill to high-five Jason. Will just shakes his head and follows. He’ll try again another time.

**THREE**

Nico swears on the Styx that it was an accident. He was being careful. He wasn’t summoning anything or shadow traveling. It was just supposed to be sword training with the Hermes cabin. Okay, so maybe he should have known that nothing was simple where the Stoll brothers were involved, he just didn’t think it would end with Nico bleeding. At least Connor and Travis had the good sense to look apologetic about it.

“Nico di Angelo! What in the gods’ names did you do?!”

Nico grimaces as Will comes storming into the waiting room, clearly pissed.

“Uh…” _Real eloquent di Angelo. _

“When I said drop by the infirmary sometime, this is now what I meant.” He grabs Nico by his good arm, not-so-gently dragging him to the back. “I swear you can’t be left alone for two minutes.” He continues to grumble.

“In my defense, it was the Stolls. They were testing new pranks during sword training. I was distracted and Cecil got a lucky shot. I’ve had worse.”

Will rolls his eyes. “You say that like it makes me feel better. Let’s see the damage.”

Carefully Nico pulls the makeshift bandage from his forearm. And yeah, it does actually look pretty bad, his arm soaked in blood and still oozing, but it really doesn’t hurt that much.

“You’re gonna need stitches, ghost boy. Good job on that one.”

Nico hisses when Will disinfects the wound but otherwise tries not to make a sound as he makes a neat line of stitches. It’s interesting to see how Will’s whole demeanor changes when he’s working. The way his tongue sticks out the corner of his mouth and the line of concentration that forms between his eyebrows. He looks cute, Nico realizes.

It’s a shock. Sure, objectively he knows that Will is handsome, but realizing that he’s attracted to the guy is different. Not bad, just new. He’d figured out his sexuality a long time ago.

The sound of ripping tape shakes Nico from his thoughts. Will tapes gauze over the stitches and gives it a satisfied little pat. _Cute. _

“You’re all patched up, di Angelo. Get some unicorn draught from Kayla and you’re good to go.” Will starts cleaning up and Nico pauses.

“Will?”

“Yep?”

“I– You–“ He sighs. “Nothing. Just, thanks, you know?”

“Don’t mention it, death boy.”

**FOUR**

Will has absolutely no interest in learning to use a sword, except that Nico asked him to spar. To be honest, Nico could ask him to try and steal the golden fleece from the dragon and he would.

“How have you not learned this already?”

Will shrugs. “I got the basics before I was claimed, then I never saw the point I guess.”

“You can’t heal anyone if you’re dead, Solace.”

Will groans dramatically. “Don’t use logic against me. I am a simple man. I eat, I sleep, and I spend all of my free time in the infirmary.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Just pick up a sword, sunshine. Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Will does as he’s told and faces Nico in the ring. He’s seen Nico in battle, he knows what he’s doing, so Will tries to mimic his stance.

Nico raises an eyebrow. “Ready?”

Less than a second after Will nods, he finds himself on the ground.

“Put your weight on your toes, not your heels. You’ll lose your balance.” He says, looking down at where Will lies miserably in the sand. He holds out a hand.

“You could have just told me my stance was off.” Will grumbles, letting Nico pull him to his feet.

“If I knew you were going to complain I wouldn’t have invited you.” Nico jokes.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.”

“Oh, I will. Feet apart, weight on your toes.” He says, before raising his training sword again. Even without his Stygian iron blade he looks terrifying.

It goes on like that for a while. Every match ending with Will and/or his sword in the dirt. Despite the numerous failures he’s not upset. He’s learning, and it’s kind of fun. At some point Nico had tied his hair up and discarded his boots. He looks younger like this, Will notes. Nico’s been less closed off recently too, scowling less and not hanging out by himself all the time.

Still, as young and carefree as Nico appears now, Will is under no impression that he’s anything but dangerous. Even when relaxing his eyes dart around, constantly on the lookout for threats. Over the last few months his frame has filled out with wiry muscles. He’s come a long way.

“Block your torso, sunshine, or you’ll end up being the worst pinata ever.” Will pauses at the nickname and ends up on his ass again. They’ve been at it nearly two hours now and Will is covered in bruises that promise regret in the morning. Right now, though, he’s having fun.

Instead of using Nico’s offered hand to get up, he pulls Nico down next to him. It only works because he’s got the element of surprise. Nico laughs sprawled on his back and squinting at the mid-day sun. His complexion is better now too, less gaunt as the summer sun had brought a rich olive shade. Okay, so maybe Will is completely gone on the guy. He’s not ashamed to admit it to himself.

“You did good today.” Nico says.

If Will wasn’t already flushed with exertion he probably would be blushing. “Are you kidding? I spent more time on my ass than anything.”

“Yeah, but we all start somewhere. Right?”

Will groans. “Don’t you have any hobbies that don’t involve me turning black and blue?”

“I used to play Mythomagic.”

The answer catches Will so off guard that he pauses for a whole fifteen seconds. “You what?”

“Yeah, before Percy found me. I was really good, actually. Until Minos convinced me it was childish or something.”

“Minos? Like, King Minos?”

“That’s the one.”

Will laughs. He can’t help it. “Sorry.” He wheezes. “Just– King Minos convinced you to stop playing a card game. Wha– What even is your life?”

Nico cracks a smile. “Yeah, it is pretty ridiculous.”

“You’ll have to teach me sometime.”

“I uh, I actually burned all my cards.” He says. “Minos had a flair for the dramatic. I even had a shiny Hestia card. Do you know how rare those are? Oh, my gods, I can’t believe I burned that.”

“No better time to start fresh, I guess.”

“I guess.”

The conversation lapses into silence but it isn’t uncomfortable. They’re just lying in the sand, enjoying one another’s company. Nico’s shoulder is pressed against his, shifting with each breath. Will turns to say something to Nico, and then sees the relaxed look on his face, the complete contentment. He’d hate to see that go, so he keeps his mouth shut.

** FIVE**

Nico’s not sure how he feels about the end of summer. The official end of summer, that is. Many of the campers had left weeks ago for school and Nico had been practically comatose for the majority of the ceremonies. Now the year-rounders were preparing for the end of the warm months, selling the last of the strawberries and getting ready for the campfire.

Nico chooses to use his time to redecorate the Hades cabin. He’s already replaced the Greek-fire torches with sunlight lamps and the coffin beds with comfy four posters. He needs to get paint for the too dark walls but that can wait until Hazel is around to help.

He’s in the middle of sweeping the floor when someone knocks on the door. It’s Will.

“Hey Solace.”

“Hey Ghost King. You missed lunch.” And, _oh no, _he’s wearing the disappointed doctor face.

“Wait, really? What time is it?”

“Like two. What have you been doing?”

“Cleaning, renovating. I completely lost track of time.”

“No worries. Happens to the best of us. I once worked eight hours in the infirmary before I realized I was hungry. Which is why I saved you some.” Will says, holding out a Tupperware container. “It was spanakopita today.”

“You’re a lifesaver, sunshine. Come on in.” Like a switch has been flipped, Nico realizes how hungry he is. He takes the Tupperware from Will’s hands, it’s still warm, and throws himself onto the lone sofa.

“The place looks way better.” Will comments, sitting on the other side of the sofa. “Less like a funeral home.”

“Thanks.” Nico says around a mouthful of spanakopita.

Will makes a face, laughing. “Gross, dude. Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Make me.” He says but makes a point to swallow first.

“Oh yeah!” Will says so loudly and suddenly that Nico nearly chokes. “I almost forgot.”

“What?”

“Wait, I think I have it. One second.” Will stands, patting the pockets of his obnoxiously salmon-colored board shorts. “Here!”

He pulls something from his front pocket and sits down closer than before. He’s so close that their knees knock together. Nico hopes he isn’t blushing. “You were kind of out of it when we had the campfire, so I held onto this for you. And then I kept forgetting I had it. Here.”

He drops something into Nico’s palm. It’s a leather chord with a single bead on it, metal with an engraving to depict Festus carrying Gaea on a purple background. The end of summer bead.

“What…”

“The Hephaestus cabin designed the beads this year. Anyway, since this is the first time you’ve been here for the end of summer, I wanted to make sure you got it.” Will explains.

Nico doesn’t know why the sentiment makes him choke up a little. His whole chest feels warm and he sets aside his food so he can put it on.

“Thanks, Will… It, uh… It means a lot.” He says, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Of Course. You’re one of us now.” Will says seriously. He pulls Nico into a gentle side hug. Suddenly he’s struck by a strong desire to pull Will closer and kiss him. He can’t, and he won’t, but he wants to. He really, really wants to.

“You okay there? You’re looking a little red.” Will says, reaching out a hand to feel Nico’s forehead for a fever.

“I’m fine.” He snaps, slapping away Will’s hand before it can make contact.

Will just shrugs. “Whatever Zombie Boy. Finish your food.”

** +ONE**

“I use Nike’s battle cry attack. It does twenty damage, felling your last card.”

Petulantly Will swipes most of his cards off of Nico’s bed and onto the floor. “This game is rigged.” He pouts.

Nico snorts. “We bought identical decks, Solace. You’re just a noob.” He says, efficiently gathering his cards and tucking them into his tin. It’s nice to play again, even if Will is a sore loser.

“My first game and he doesn’t even go easy on me.” He mumbles under his breath.

“Sucks to suck. Pick up your cards before they get creased.”

“No… I’m moping. Let me bask in my shame.” He wails dramatically.

Nico rolls his eyes. “You’re such a baby. I don’t know why I hang out with you.”

“Because you love me, Nico di Angelo. I mean, why else would you visit me at the infirmary, or teach me your favorite card game?” He flops across the bed, halfway into Nico’s lap.

Nico doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to how free Will is with touch, how easily he’ll grab Nico’s hands or ruffle his hair. It’s something he hadn’t known he was missing.

“I tolerate you, Solace. Nothing more.”

“You sure about that?”

And– _What? _Will is really close, his face just inches from Nico’s. Maybe he’s imagining the way Will keeps staring at his lips, but he hopes not.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure.” Holy Hera he really wants to kiss Will Solace. Even he can’t be misreading the situation. Will is staring at him with those stupidly blue eyes, daring him. Nico thinks he might kiss him. And then he does. Or maybe Will kisses him. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Will’s mouth is soft and warm, and his hands are rucking up the bottom of Nico’s shirt. The whole thing is overwhelming so Nico does the only thing he can think of. He grabs the front of Will’s shirt and pulls him closer, into his lap. He’ll deny till the end of time any noises he might make when Will settles on top of him.

“Is this okay?” Will asks, barely pulling back.

“More than.” Nico replies, and pulls him back in. Hephaestus’s hand grenades he really likes this. Nico has no desire to stop until Will pulls away, breaths coming out in soft pants.

“Uhh…” Nico says eloquently.

“Yeah.” Will says, smiling brightly. It seems a bit on the nose to compare a son of Apollo to the sun, but it’s true. Will’s smile is blinding.

“So, would this be a good time to say that I like you? Because I really like you.”

Will laughs. “Well good, because I really like you too.”

“Oh good, this would have been really embarrassing if you didn’t.”

Will kisses him again. “Be my boyfriend?”

“Like I could say no.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from TWRP's Phantom Racer. Good song. Worth a listen.
> 
> This isn't my best work, but kudos and comments make the world go round.


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